


Untitled Vanimarco story #177

by v3rm



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: Enemies With Benefits, Hate Sex, M/M, Rough Sex, porn that accidentally a plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-13 11:17:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21493423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/v3rm/pseuds/v3rm
Summary: Shortly after Vanus leaves Artaeum to found the Mage's Guild, Mannimarco visits him.Porn that accidentally a plot. I intended this to be a one-shot hatefuck lemon (do we still say lemon?), but I decided that I also want to explore their relationship, personalities, and backstory a little more.I'm honestly quite proud of this. It has everything that I love: Vanus being #relatable, hints of backstory to be revealed later, crying, hot elves doing the nasty. Mannimarco gets called a whore. It's great.Suggest titles if you want. It's going to get one eventually.
Relationships: Vanus Galerion/Mannimarco
Comments: 1
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

Vanus Galerion locked the heavy wood door behind him and leaned against it, sighing. It had been a long, long day, socializing with strangers, laughing at their jokes, pretending to be like them. The dark solitude of his bedroom was more than welcome.

He slipped his shoes off and rubbed his forehead. There was a headache forming behind his brow, the kind that came from stress and exhaustion and couldn't be fixed by any spell.

The bed was soft. He fell on top of it without even taking off his pants. Gods, it was the most comfortable thing he'd ever felt. Sleep began to carry him away.

He woke up to his skin prickling with the uncanny sensation of being watched. He listened intently, gripping the sheet, but heard nothing. He sat up and turned on the lamp.

An elven man was sitting at the foot of Vanus's bed. His skin was paper white and his silver hair was long and tied back in a bun. He was clad in leather armor covered in runes, and his expression was inscrutable -- his posture suggested casual, idle amusement, but his eyes burned as they met Vanus's.

"You…!" Vanus sat straight up. "You've got some nerve showing your face here."

"I could say the same about you," Mannimarco replied coolly. "I didn't expect you'd ever leave that den of vermin, Artaeum. Or did they finally find out your secrets, and banish you too?" He leaned closer, smirking.

"I left by choice," Vanus said hotly.

"Ah. Then you've come to find me? Perhaps to apologize?"

"No, you narcissistic prick. I left because I couldn't stand being around that cult anymore. It had nothing to do with you."

"'Narcissistic prick?' You wound me," said Mannimarco, touching his own chest dramatically. "Shall I return the favor?" 

"What?" 

Before Vanus could react, Mannimarco was on top of him, straddling his hips and pinning his wrists down against the mattress. "You hurt me," Mannimarco said quietly. His breath against Vanus's face smelled foul. "And now I'll hurt you."

Vanus wasn't terribly afraid; he was more angry. "I hurt you?" he spat. "By trying to stop you from defiling corpses with dark magic?"

"You ruined my life," Mannimarco growled.

"You should have thought about the consequences of your actions before you started doing necr--"

Mannimarco's fist stopped Vanus mid-sentence when it collided with the side of his face. He saw stars and his ears rang.

"You know why I was doing it. You know I wanted to help her."

"Is that what you do now? Help people?" Vanus said bitterly. "How many lives have you sacrificed? How many families destroyed? How many children are growing up without parents because of you?"

Mannimarco was agitated, distracted by emotion, and Vanus took the opportunity. He cast a strength leeching spell and broke free from Mannimarco's weakened grip, found Mannimarco's wrists, and twisted until Mannimarco was facedown on the mattress, his hands behind his shoulders, wincing in pain. 

"It's your fault," Mannimarco hissed. "You made me this way. You made this happen."

Oh, that made Vanus's blood boil. "No," he said, yanking at Mannimarco's wrists and soliciting a grunt. "Don't you dare try to push your guilt off on me."

"But you did. You betrayed me. You were my first and only friend. You made me love you and then you stabbed me in the back."

"Stop talking."

Mannimarco coughed. "You're, ah, stabbing me again."

Vanus flushed. He hadn't noticed the suggestive position they were in--Mannimarco on his stomach on the bed, Vanus laying on top of him--but Vanus's body clearly had noticed, and he was hard against the back of Mannimarco's thighs.

"Shut up," Vanus muttered, shifting. 

"Make me." Mannimarco gave Vanus a smirk.

Vanus hesitated. Now that he'd become aware of his desire, it grew, a tension in his chest and gut and groin. He hated the man beneath him, hated the pain he'd brought to Vanus and to the world, but… 

He took both of Mannimarco's wrists in one hand and hesitantly ran the other down his back. Was it okay? Was it what Mannimarco wanted? Of course, Mannimarco didn't deserve to have what he wanted taken into consideration. But taking anyone against their will, even a monster like this, was a line that Vanus wasn't willing to cross.

Mannimarco didn't fight against Vanus's touch. He lay still and his breath came a little faster.

Vanus took this as assent. He undid the buckles on Mannimarco's leather jerkin and tossed it to the floor. Underneath was a simple black cotton shirt. Vanus slid his hand under this, feeling Mannimarco's hot skin, and sighed. The leather thigh guards came unbuckled next, and Vanus took the waistband of Mannimarco's wool pants and tugged them down to mid-thigh.

Vanus sat still for a moment admiring the sight. The man pinned beneath him was exquisitely handsome. A slender yet muscular body showed beneath the pushed-up shirt, tapering to a narrow waist, then widening again to a pair of toned, pleasantly rounded buttocks before disappearing back into the clothing. The man's silver hair was tangled and hid most of his beautiful face, but his eyes were visible, burning in the dark like stars.

"Stop staring at me and do it," Mannimarco breathed, "before I change my mind about this."

Vanus pushed aside his doubts and his robes, untying his knotted waistband and taking his length in his hand. A wicked thought came to him. "You need to get it wet first," he muttered.

"Make me," Mannimarco said again, snickering.

The tone made Vanus shiver. He got off of Mannimarco and then took his hair in his free hand, physically dragging him into position with his face at Vanus's crotch. "If you bite me, I swear I'll…"

Mannimarco gave him a wild grin and opened his mouth.

He looks crazy, Vanus thought. He looks unwell. Before doubt could creep into his mind, he pushed his cock between Mannimarco's lips.

"Ahn…!" The gusto with which Mannimarco took him in startled Vanus, and he gripped the headboard for balance. The man knew how to use his mouth. And the things he was doing with his tongue…! The tension in Vanus's core grew into an ache, sweet and desperate. He tightened his grip on Mannimarco's hair and thrust deeper, harder, into his throat, until Mannimarco gagged and shoved him away, coughing and drooling.

"Don't fucking throw up on my bed, whore."

Vanus was startled as he heard the words leave his mouth. Where had that come from? 

Mannimarco wiped his face and looked up at him. "Is that what I am to you?" he asked hoarsely. His eyes still glittered with wild passion.

Vanus considered, but only for a second. It wasn't a tough decision to lean into this new role. "You look like one," he said, grabbing Mannimarco by the hair and wrist and pushing him down on his face on the bed. "You suck like one." He pulled Mannimarco's hips up and got behind him. "Let's see if you take a cock up the ass like one."

Mannimarco said nothing. He just balled his fists around the sheets and trembled.

Vanus took his time putting it in. First he ran the head of his dick along the valley of Mannimarco's buttocks, then took it in his hand and slapped it against the pucker between them. Finally he pushed it inside -- but only the tip, which he teased in and out.

Mannimarco moaned softly. "Come on."

"Then beg." Vanus felt giddy. "Beg me to fuck you."

"Nnhh…" The words alone made Mannimarco groan and push back against Vanus, trying to impale himself.

But Vanus didn't let him. He pulled back. "I said, _beg_." He reached around Mannimarco's body and grabbed his sex.

Mannimarco whimpered and twitched in Vanus's hand. "P… hhhh… please…"

"Good boy." Vanus stifled a moan as he sank his cock into the eager, twitching body beneath him.

The first stroke was long and slow, but immediately Vanus began going faster, and Mannimarco's moans grew in volume until Vanus stifled them with his palm for fear of alarming his neighbors.

Soon, the motion of Mannimarco's hips and the way he squeezed Vanus inside him told Vanus that he was close. Vanus felt triumphant. "Are you going to cum?" he said, taunting. "Filthy little thing, are you going to make a mess of yourself?"

Mannimarco arched his back and began panting, his body stiffening. Only a few more thrusts from Vanus and then he was in ecstasy, crying out against Vanus's palm, pulsing around Vanus's cock, spilling his pleasure onto the bed beneath him. The rippling muscles against his dick pulled Vanus over the edge only moments later, and he moaned through his teeth as he finished.

Finally, panting, both men collapsed onto the bed.

"I should make you lick it up," Vanus murmured.

"Shut up."

Vanus propped his head up on one elbow. "Did you come here just to get fucked?"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Mannimarco turned away from Vanus and put his arms around his head.

Mannimarco's sudden rage brought Vanus back to the present. The man laying beside him was no longer the friend and lover he had been in their youth. No, this was Mannimarco the outlaw, the necromancer, the murderer. And all of a sudden the old heartbreak, long since scarred over, was torn open again.

"You should go," Vanus said stiffly, fighting to keep the grief out of his voice and failing. He closed his eyes. 

Mannimarco sighed in a way that sounded frustrated. Vanus heard him get out of the bed, pull on his armor, and open and close the door.

When Vanus opened his eyes, he was alone. All that was left of his visitor was a damp spot on the cooling sheets and a few strands of silver hair on a pillow. 

Vanus buried his face in the pillow and wept.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Chapter 2 is finally here. It's a short one, but I figure it's better to post it than to wait another year for it to be perfect. Hope you like it. They don't fuck in this one, but don't worry, they will later.

A month passed.

The Duke of Anvil was throwing a masquerade ball to celebrate the birth of his first grandchild, and Vanus had decided to attend, to promote his newly created Guild of Magic to the Gold Coast nobility.

Vanus was wearing a costume themed like a dragonfly, with a beaded green mask and glittering crystal wings that flowed behind him on magicka currents. He thought he looked fantastic, until he arrived and saw that the other attendees had chosen costumes inspired by mammals, mainly in subdued autumn colors. He could see them staring at him through their animal masks.

So he decided to augment his confidence with a few drinks, and then a few more, and that's why he didn't recognize him immediately when the minstrels switched to a lively lute and the man in the wolf costume asked him to dance.

"You? Want to dance… with me?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" A smile played on the person's lips as he put his hands on Vanus's shoulders. "Dance with me, dragonfly."

"I need to warn you, I'm a little drunk."

"I know. So am I."

Despite claiming to be drunk, the wolf was an exquisite dancer, and guided Vanus through the moves expertly, the smile never leaving his mouth.

"There's something strange about you," Vanus said, after a few minutes.

"Is there?" 

"Yes. I don't know what it is, but… dancing with you feels familiar."

The wolf said nothing.

Suddenly Vanus knew who he was. "_You!_" 

"Me." Mannimarco smiled. 

Vanus wasn't smiling. He caught him by the wrist and pulled him off the dance floor, into a hallway, where they could be alone. They both took off their masks.

"What are you doing here? Are you spying on me?" 

"I just wanted to dance."

"Did you come here to kill me?"

"No."

"Then what is happening?"

"I just wanted to be with you, okay? I thought… after the other night, maybe…"

Vanus scoffed. "You thought that sleeping together made all of our problems go away? You thought that fucking you meant I forgave you?"

"I don't need your forgiveness," Mannimarco spat. "I've done nothing to you."

"Unbelievable. You think you can spend your days playing with corpses and then just come in here and _be with me_ like it doesn't matter?" He leaned closer to Mannimarco, speaking right into his ear. "That's not going to happen. I don't want you. You… disgust… me."

Mannimarco yelled. He grabbed Vanus by the front of his costume and slammed his back against the wall. In a flash, he had a bound dagger in his hand and was pressing it to Vanus's throat. His eyes were fiery, and Vanus could smell the alcohol on his breath now.

"You don't know a goddamn thing. You think you know everything. You think you know me. But you don't. You're just as ignorant as the rest of them."

"Put the knife away. You're not going to kill me."

"Do you want to bet?"

"Yes."

Slowly, he lowered the knife, and it disappeared. His empty hand went to Vanus's throat.

"I disgust you, do I?" he growled. "Maybe I should show you how disgusting I can be. Maybe I should take you home with me, introduce you to some of my pets."

Vanus visibly paled. "Don't."

Mannimarco stared at him. "You're afraid of them, aren't you?" 

"Shut up."

"That's why you hate necromancy so much. That's why you turned against me. This entire time, you've been afraid of them. You destroyed my life because you were _afraid_."

"Fuck you!" Vanus shoved him away, willing the room to stop spinning. Willing the memories to leave his head. "You think your life was destroyed because, what, you got kicked off of an island a hundred years ago? You have no idea what I went through before-- before you met me." He faltered, unsure how much he wanted to reveal, then kept going. "You're not the only one with problems. But you're the only one who can't move on."

Mannimarco turned away. 

"What? You don't want to fight anymore?" 

"I shouldn't have come. This was a mistake." He put his mask back on and stepped toward the door.

"Wait. Wait! Manni--" 

He was already gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally called this "my Naruto and Vanus fic" so that's a thing


	3. Chapter 3

Another three weeks passed, until the night Vanus woke up to being prodded in the side of the face. 

"How do I do it?" 

"Nnh… wha…?"

"How do I get over it?" Mannimarco repeated. His voice was hollow.

"Stendarr's beard." Vanus pushed him away, then sat up and rubbed his face. "How do you keep getting in here?"

Mannimarco sat on the edge of the bed, scowling. His hair was down, partially hiding his features, and he was in a normal silk shirt and pants this time. "You told me I need to get over it. What does that even mean? How am I supposed to do that?"

Vanus sighed. "That's a hell of a question to ask in the middle of the night. Uh… why don't you come by in the morning and we'll talk about it over breakfast?" 

"So you can have the guards waiting for me? No."

Okay, the thought  _ had _ crossed his mind more than once to use Mannimarco's strange desire for companionship to set up a trap for him. But what had stopped him was the next step. What would happen then? Assuming that the trap worked, which was asking a lot to begin with--was there a prison in existence that would hold Mannimarco forever? No; he would just escape, eventually, with an even bigger chip on his shoulder. Unless they… 

"Talk to me, Galerion."

"Have some patience. I'm still waking up. And I don't even know where to start with that question, okay? Give me time to think." He threw the blankets off himself and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Kitchen," Vanus replied. "Tea."

"I don't want your tea."

"It's not for you, asshole."

Despite what they said, Vanus still poured two steaming mugs of tea, and Mannimarco still wrapped his pale hands around his mug and sipped it. "Ginger," he observed.

"You still like it, don't you?" 

"I do." 

They sat in silence for a little while longer. 

"Honestly… I don't know what you want me to say. I don't know why you think I can help you. I don't know why you think I would  _ want to  _ help you."

"You're the one who ruined my life."

"Okay, and?" 

"What do you mean 'and'?" Mannimarco set his mug down hard and jabbed an accusatory finger at Vanus. " _ You  _ are the reason I'm here.  _ You  _ are the reason I'm like this. Everything that happened after I left Artaeum, all of that is  _ your fault. _ "

Vanus scoffed. "I should have expected this. You don't want my help. You just came here to yell at me."

"No." Mannimarco stared into his tea. "No, that's not why I came."

"Then why?"

"I told you," he said, very quietly. "I want to get over it."

"Okay, well, can you be a little more specific? What does 'over it' look like for you?"

Mannimarco gazed silently into his mug.

"If you're not going to talk to me--"

"I want to stop thinking about you. I think about you all the time and it makes me sick. You make me sick."

Vanus stared at him. "So, when you say you want to get over it, what you mean is that you want to get over  _ me _ ."

"No. No." Mannimarco stood up and began pacing, still not looking at Vanus. "What kind of pathetic person would I have to be, to not be over you? No. Gods. I'm not in love with you, idiot."

Vanus watched him, unnerved. "I never said you were," he replied mildly.

"I disgust you, don't I? That's what you told me. More than once."

"I'm pretty sure I only said that once."

"That's not the point."

"Then what the hell is the point?" Vanus was tired, and his patience was short. "If you're going to drag me out of bed in the middle of the night, the least you could do is tell me what you want from me." He stood up.

Mannimarco put his hands on Vanus's face and kissed him.

Mannimarco's lips were dry, rough, but his kiss was gentle, slow, almost hesitant. Vanus clutched at the front of Mannimarco's shirt, torn between pushing him away and pulling him closer. His face felt very warm. He parted his lips and his heart skipped a beat when he felt Mannimarco's tongue slip between them. 

After what felt like a very long time, Mannimarco broke the kiss. Vanus noted with some satisfaction how pink Mannimarco's ears were.

"What I want," Mannimarco said in that strange hollow voice, "is to go back to the way we were. When we were young, and things were so… easy." His eyes went to Vanus's lips and stayed there a moment, then went back to his eyes. "But that can never happen, can it?"

"No, I… I don't suppose it can."  _ Keep kissing me like that, and that won't matter.  _ He glanced at Mannimarco's lips and looked away, blushing.

"You want me to kiss you again."

"Nrgh… no." He let go of Mannimarco's shirt, but Mannimarco caught his wrists and held them there.

"You're still a terrible liar." He leaned in and pressed their lips together again. This kiss was harder, hungrier, his hands on Vanus's sides, finding their way up the back of his shirt.

Mannimarco's mouth left his lips and moved along his jawline to his neck, kissing and teasing at the place where his pulse was visible, sending a ripple of pleasure across his skin. Vanus's gasp was very nearly a moan.

"I thought you said I disgust you," he murmured in Vanus's ear, right before running his tongue along it from lobe to tip. 

"Oh, you do," Vanus sighed, "don't get me wrong. But--"

Mannimarco silenced him with a kiss, pushing him back against the closed bedroom door. "And what was it you called me last time? 'Filthy'?"

"Mmm… filthy little fucking whore, if I remember correctly."

Mannimarco laughed softly. "That was it."

Vanus's hand searched on the door for the handle, found it, turned it, and they stumbled into the bedroom.

Mannimarco pushed Vanus down on his back and straddled him, pressing his palm down on Vanus's erection, rubbing him through the thin cloth of his robe. "You used to sleep naked," he murmured.

"Maybe I should start doing that again." Vanus untied his waistband and pulled the robe open, biting his lip as Mannimarco's cool hand wrapped around his cock.

"You should." Mannimarco began stroking him, slowly but firmly. Vanus's breath caught. "I'd love to be able to just crawl into bed with you and take you any night I want."

Vanus moaned, feeling himself swell in Mannimarco's hand as he imagined waking up to this. He grabbed at Mannimarco's waistband and pulled. "I want you."

"No shit." Mannimarco climbed off of him just long enough to strip, then came back, pushing one leg between Vanus's thighs, letting their erections touch. He kissed him again and then pushed two fingers into his mouth. Vanus sucked on them eagerly. 

He pushed his other knee between Vanus's legs and spread them. Vanus made a small confused sound. "Are you going to…? I thought you didn't like…"

"Things have changed. May I continue?"

"Yes," Vanus breathed. "Please do."

He moaned when he felt Mannimarco's wet fingertip massaging his hole, gently but insistently working him open and sliding inside. He couldn't help but rock his hips. A second finger joined the first, and they twisted inside him, making him gasp.

A short time later, Mannimarco pulled his fingers away and positioned himself between Vanus's legs. He pushed his tip against Vanus's entrance and hesitated.

"Is this what you want?"

"Yes," Vanus moaned. "Oh, yes."

Mannimarco didn't wait for more encouragement. He kissed Vanus deeply as he sank into him, hands holding Vanus by the hips, until he was buried to the hilt. Then he pulled back and watched Vanus's face as he held him there, fully impaled on his cock, moaning and twitching.

Vanus met his eyes and saw the need there, the hunger, and… something else, something he couldn't quite place… and then Mannimarco began thrusting, fucking him in earnest, and Vanus saw stars. 

It didn't take long at all for him to finish, moaning into Mannimarco's mouth as he spilled his seed across his stomach, and he was a little embarrassed. 

"That was fast."

"Maybe you're just slow."

Mannimarco pushed Vanus's knees up and kept going, fucking him harder and faster. It wasn't painful, but it was  _ intense _ . This intensity, combined with the post-orgasmic clarity about what was happening and  _ who _ was on top of him, was overwhelming. "Stop," he whispered, tears stinging his eyes.

He did. "What's wrong?" 

"Everything. All of this. Why are we doing this?"

Mannimarco sighed and settled in on the bed next to him, one arm draped over his chest. "You ask too many questions." 

"I'm serious. What's the point? I just-- I don't know if this is a good idea." He pulled his robe out from underneath himself and used it to wipe up the mess. 

"Fucking typical." Mannimarco scoffed and sat up. "You didn't care whether it was a good idea or not when you wanted to get off. You never give a shit about things like that until after you get what you want."

"You're right. I was thinking with my dick. I'm sorry."

Mannimarco stared at him. "Well, alright then." He laid back down. 

Vanus took his hand and threaded their fingers together. "But really, can we talk about this? What are we hoping to accomplish here? This can't be helping you get over it."

"But you don't hate it?" Mannimarco asked slowly. 

"No. I don't hate it."

"And you don't hate me?" 

"I…" Vanus swallowed. "You've done awful things. Profane things. I should hate you. But…"

_ But mostly I just feel sorry for you _ , he realized. How lonely was he, to keep seeking Vanus's company, of all people?

Mannimarco's lips were gentle as he kissed him. "Well, I hate you."

"I'm sure you do."

They laid in the dark together, kissing and dozing, for a long time.

"I should let you sleep."

Vanus pouted. "That's no fun."

"No. But it's a good idea. Just like this isn't." Mannimarco kissed him again, deeply, then stood up and began dressing. 

"Will I see you again?" 

"Yes."

"When?"

"I don't know. Soon."

"Tirdas? For lunch?" 

"We'll see." Mannimarco paused, his hand on the doorknob, and looked at Vanus like he was thinking of saying something; then he changed his mind, and left without another word. 


End file.
